 We are here live at SAP Sapphire, this is SiliconANGLE Media's theCUBE, it's our flagship program, we go out to the events and extract the signal from noise and want to do a shout out to our sponsors SAP HANA Cloud and Console Inc at Console Cloud, connecting the clouds together I'm John Furrier with my co-host Peter Beres, our next guest is Reggie Jackson, winner, athlete, tech athlete now, entrepreneur, overall great guy, and a CUBE alumni, four years ago we interviewed him here at SAP Sapphire, welcome back Reggie to the CUBE, thanks for coming here. Here and John, thank you very much, it's good to be here with all friends, we were having a little conversation about baseball there, but good to see you guys. Yeah and obviously the baseball, we're just talking about the whole fist of the cuffs and the glee of the grand slam walk off, but this is a good pivot point and some of the things that you're working on here, the conversations in the tech world, which is social media and that notion of celebrating like in a world of Instagram and Snapchat and social media, certainly you flip the bat, the views go up, but then baseball has these unwritten rules, so there's corporations, and so we're now in new era, so is baseball safe now with these unwritten rules and should they maintain those certain things that have kept the game in balance, but yet with social media the players are their own brand and you certainly were a brand, even back in your day, which is a pioneer, what's your thoughts on that? You know John, Peter, I don't like the idea of someone going out of their way to promote their brand. Some of the great brands to me in history, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, the great Jim Brown, Joe Montana, Michael Jordan, and Michael Jordan would be a prominent example where technology and TV enhanced who he was and he had someone behind him to enhance his brand, Nike, Phil Knight, who was a real pioneer. I'm not in favor at all of someone manufacturing themselves as a brand and I hear players talk about their brand and about trying to create something. You know, if you're great, if you deserve it, I don't think Steph and Curry works on his brand. I think he works on being a great player. I think he works on being a great teammate. I think he does his best to maximize his skill set and he's nothing but a gentleman along the way. He'll celebrate with joy once in a while with the Curry moves, which we've come to recognize. But for guys to talk about the manufacturing of their brand, there's something about it that's manufactured. It's not real. It's small. And I don't like it. I think it's okay to, you know, the Snapchat and the Google Plus and all of the stuff, Twitter and Facebook and all that all of the things that go along with trying to create some hubbub, etc. I'm okay with that. So you're saying it has not deserved? If people are overplaying their hand before earning it? A lot of it, John. A lot of it. Joe Montana didn't work on his brand. He was great. Jim Brown didn't work on his brand. He was great and we all knew. I don't want to use Jimmy Brown. I want to use Montana because even young people today will know Joe Montana. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, they're not about their brand. They're about being classy, being great, being part of a team, being a leader, presenting themselves as something that's respected in the NFL across the United States. Go ahead, Pete. So even something, even though it's cheaper to get your name out there, you still believe and let your performance be successful. You've got to be real about it. You've got to be who you are. If you're not a great player, get out of the way. I mean, get out of the space. I mean, so manufacturing your brand. I played with the Yankees. I was in the era of Cosell and Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner. We won championships with the team. I was part of something that helped me become recognized. And so in our era, the Sandy Co-Faxes became brands because they were associated with greatness around them. They stood out and so they earned that tremendous brand. We were just watching Greg Nettles getting taken out by George Brett and that big game and also the tie-in tie-in tar. We're kind of getting some good laughs at it. But you look at the balance of personality. Certainly, Brett Nettles and your team and you had a great personality winning championships worked together as a team. And so I want to ask you that question about the balance and baseball, certainly the unwritten rules, our legacy and that has worked. And now in an era of personalities, in some cases, people self-promoting themselves. People are questioning that. Your thoughts on that, because that applies to business too, because tech athletes or business athletes have a team. There are some unwritten rules, thoughts on this baseball debate about unwritten rules. You know, you can, I'll try to, Pete and John, I'll try to correlate it between some tech giants, you know, that have a brand. We just left, I just left a guy with a brand, Bill McDermott, that runs SAP. Even hasso the boss, the face now of SAP is Bill McDermott. Dapper, slender, stylish, bright. And it comes across well. So maintaining that brand to me relates to SAP. Bill's a great image for it. He's stylish. He's smooth. He's smart. He's about people. He presents himself with care. So that is a brand. It's, I don't think it's manufactured. That's who he is in real life. If you take a look and I'll go back to Steph Curry because that name resonates and everyone recognizes it. That style of cool, that style of control, that style of team and care. And he presents to us all that he cares about us, the fan, his team, his family. And so those are things I think you can go from the tech world. Bill Gates had a brand. Brilliant, somewhat reclusive, concerned about the world, concerned about the country, concerned about his company. And so that resonated at Microsoft because that's who he really was. We all, some of the people today, don't really recognize that jobs was thrown out of Apple. He was pushed out. All of his brilliance, which was marketing. And the gentleman there that really was the mind for the company, Steve Wozniak, happens to be here at SAP Sapphire today, I think he speaks. But those brands were real, not manufactured. And so in today's world, I think you can manufacture a brand. And then all of a sudden it'll crumble. It'll go away in the future. But the great brands of whether it's Jackie Robinson, or whether it's Jack Welch, or whether it's George Steinbrenner in the Yankee brand. Those brands were real. They were not manufactured. Those guys were eccentric. They were brilliant. Go ahead. And also they work hard. And I want to point out a comment you made yesterday here at the event. You were asked a question up on stage about that moment, you know, when you hit the home runs, I think we talked about it last time. I didn't say I want to talk about the home runs, but you made a comment. I'd like you to expand on and share with the audience. Because you said I worked hard, but that day during warmups, you had batting practice, you made a comment that you were in the zone. So working hard and being great as it leads up to that. But also in the moment, because that's the theme these days, in the moment, being ready and prepared, share your thoughts on what you meant by you had a great batting practice and you just felt it. You know, I'm going to take it to what you think of what you say is in the moment. I remember when I was talking about it yesterday, which you referenced to when I had such a fantastic batting practice, I walked by a couple of sportswriters in that era, a really well-known guys. Dave Anderson, New York Times. I can think of his name right now, but it'll come to me of the Daily News. And it was like, hey, man, you rock at it out there. I kind of hope I didn't leave it out here. You know, that was in the moment. And at the same time, when the game started, I got back in that moment. I got back in what was live, what was now, what was going on. So certainly, I think our world now, with the instant gratification of sending out a message or tweeting to someone or whatever, certainly in the moment is about what our youth is and who we are today as a country, as a university. But you didn't make that up. You worked hard, but you pulled it together in the moment. Well, I'll comment with that is, I went and did something with ESPN earlier this year in San Francisco, in Oakland. What's Stephen Curry? They said, Reggie, we want you to come up and watch his practice, his pregame. And it was very similar to your batting practice, where people come out and watch, et cetera. And so I was looking forward to it. And I like to go to the games about an hour and a half or two hours early, so I can see warm up and see some of the guys and say hello. And I got a chance to watch Steph Curry. And I know his dad, and happened to be the first time I went this year, is the dad, Carolina, the Panthers work were in town, okay? And not the Panthers. Come on, help me, help me, help me. From the Wizards? No, no, no. The Carolina Hornets, you know, were there. And I know his dad, Del Curry, okay? And we talked a little bit. But then Steph came out and I watched him. And I watched the dribbling exhibition. I watched the going between the legs and behind the back and the fancy passing, et cetera. And I watched the shots, the high arching threes, the normal trajectory threes, the high shots off the backboard and things like that that he did, the left handed shots, the right handed shots. And the guy asked me what I thought of the show. And I said, well, it's a cool show. But I'm going to see all that tonight. In me watching him, the behind the backs, the between the legs, the passes, the high arching shots from three, the high arching touches off the glass. He does all that. He brought it into the game. Yeah. I said, so it's not a show, but that's his game. Yeah. So, Reggie, you did an interesting promotion, Reggie's Garage, where you bought a virtual reality camera and you created a really nice show of your garage and demonstrating 360. Talk a little bit about that. And then if you get a second, imagine what baseball is going to be like as that technology becomes available and how some of the conversation that we're having about authenticity, the fan coming into the game is going to change baseball. But start with the garage and how that went and then how you think that's going to translate into baseball. You know, in the technology that was used, certainly I enjoyed it. While I was doing it, I noticed where the cameras were in different spots. There was one on the floor of my car. There was one in the back seat. And then there was someone following us as closely as they could. But you could see everything. You'd see the ship and you'd see my feet. It was like you were with me. When we did the 360 inside the garage as well, you could listen to me and then you could use your finger and spin around. And they had these special headsets and special glasses that you could look around just with your headset on and see all around the room behind you and on a view. And so it's an experience that I think is going to become part of who we are as a nation, who we are as a people watching television, that you're going to really feel like you're in the room. I think it's going to be exciting and I think it's going to be fun. And when you're talking about the products, when you're talking about my website, if you will, with the focus on automotive parts where a guy can go in and shop and get any part he wants for a vehicle, you really can build a complete car from my website. You can buy a frame, you can buy body parts, you can buy a horn, an engine, brakes, tires, grills, you know, turn signals the whole nine yards. And it gives you an experience through 360 video of really walking into the store, walking into the building, walking into the stadium, and looking around to see the hot dog stand, see the dugout, see the pitcher and the hitter, to see the parts in the garage, to see the cars and take a look and view at everything that's there. How are players going to react to having the fans virtually right there with them? I don't think it bothers you. I don't think you notice. I don't think they'll show anything that will affect the player that he's going to be concerned about. I think you'd have to be sensitive if they start microphoneing, start miking up, and then the looseness of the language would impact. So I don't think they'll go that far. But I do think the more that you can see, the more attractive the game becomes, the more interested that you can get people. When I broadcast baseball for ABC back in the 80s, I always tried to broadcast for the lady of the house while she worked, while she cooked the meal. She didn't have time to think about a backup slider or the fastball that painted the outside corner, the change up, etc., the sinker. I tried to broadcast for her interpretation so I could attract another fan to the game. So I think that the technology and the viewing that you'll see from behind home plate, from under the player's feet while he's running down the bases and the slides and things of that nature, Pete, I think you're going to be exciting for the fan and it'll attract more fans, attract a new type of television that's going to produce, etc. So it's exciting. Reggie, thanks for coming on theCUBE again. Appreciate your time. I asked you final two questions that I want to get your thoughts on. One is, I'll see the cars. Reggie's garage is going great. And you shared with us last time on theCUBE, it's on YouTube about when you grew up and decided football and baseball. But when you're growing up, what was your favorite car? What was that car that you wanted? That it was out of reach, that car that was your hot rod? And then the second question is, we'll get to the second question, answer that one first. Who was your dream car at the time? The dream car for me at the time, I had a 55 Chevrolet that I bought from a buddy by the name of Ronnie Fogg. I don't even know if he's still around anymore out of Pennsylvania. I had $300 and my dad gave me 200. I'd saved up mine from working for my dad. But my dream car was, I went to school with a guy named Wayne Geffman and another guy named Irwin Kreuz. I don't know Wayne Geffman anymore, but from the age of 16, I re-engaged with Irwin Kreuz, who happens to be a business and investing type guy in the city of Philadelphia, right where we're still from. He's a car collector and he drove a 62 Corvette and so did Wayne Geffman. And I always wanted one. And I now happen to have four. Yeah, he with the most toys wins. Final question because you're such a legend and you're awesome, you're doing so much work and you're very active and Gage, appreciate that. Advice to young athletes coming up, whether they're also in business or a tech athlete or a business athlete, but the sports athletes today, travel ball, you've got all this stuff going on, the idols like Stephen, Stephen Curry are looking great, great role models now emerging. What advice do you give them? John's got a freshman in high school. I got a junior in high school. What would you say? You know, I'll tell you, when you're young, the people you want to listen to are mom and dad. No one, and I'll say this to any child from the age of eight or nine years old, five, six years to 17, 18, 19, 20, all the way up to my daughter's 25, all the way up to the end of your parents days. No one cares for you more than your mother or your father. Any parent, whether it's a job, whether the success of success in life, number one in that man or woman, mom or dad, number one in their life is their children. And so for kids, I say, if there's any person you're going to listen to for advice, in any path you want to walk down, it's the one that your parents talk to you about or how they show you. That is what I would leave as being most important. For kids, anything idea that you have, that you believe you can do, whether it's the athlete like Stephen Curry that has created shots and done things on the basketball court, that he envisioned, that he thought about, or whether it's the next Steve Jobs who happens to be Mark Zuckerman who I don't know, Mark is 30 years old yet. It's an idea or he's born around the same time. He's born this week. His birthday is in this week. My birthday is tomorrow. Happy birthday. But thank you. Anything that you can think of in today's world of technology with places like Silicon Valley where they take dreams and create foundations for them. I had a dream about a website that would sell automotive parts and you could go to my site and buy anything for your car. We've got about 75,000 items now. We'll get to 180,000 in a few months. We'll get to a half a million as soon as my technology is ready for it. But we have things to pay attention to and look and do and issues to make sure that we iron out that aren't there for our consumer, for ease of navigation, ease of consumption and purchase. But any idea that you have, take time to dream. It's much more so than taking time to dream when I was a young kid because my father would say, stop daydreaming and wasting time. But today's world for our children, I say take time to create a vision or to create something new and go to someone that's in the tech world and they'll figure out a way of helping you manifest it into something that's a reality. Listen to your parents, kids and folks out there dream, build the foundation, go for it. Reggie Jackson, congratulations for being a CUBE alumni again. Multi return. Appreciate it. And congratulations on all your continued success. Your legend. Great to have you on and thanks so much for coming on the CUBE. And happy 70th birthday. John Pete, always a pleasure. Happy birthday. Thank you very much. That's some cake for Reggie. It's the CUBE live here in Orlando, bringing all the action here on the CUBE. I'm John Furrier with Peter Burris with Reggie Jackson. We'll be right back.